Over the past 15 years under Sheikh Hasina's tenure, approximately $16 billion was illicitly siphoned out of Bangladesh on average each year, according to a three-month investigative report prepared by a committee tasked with drafting a white paper.
Committee head economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya handed the report, titled White Paper on State of the Bangladesh Economy: Dissection of a Development Narrative,” to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his Tejgaon office on Sunday.
The committee revealed alarming evidence of corruption, plundering and severe financial misconduct during Hasina's regime.
Yunus thanked the committee for its “groundbreaking” work, saying it should be included in school, college and university curriculums to educate students.
Debapriya emphasized that the committee had operated independently, without government interference.
“The problem is far deeper than we anticipated. The 400-page white paper, spanning 30 chapters, details how crony capitalism has created oligarchs who manipulate policymaking.”
Committee member Mustafizur Rahman said they had examined seven major projects out of 29, each exceeding Tk10,000 crore in costs.
“The total expenditure on these 29 large projects was $87 billion, or Tk780,000 crore.”
For the seven scrutinized projects, the initial estimated cost was Tk114,000 crore.
By inflating component costs, overestimating land prices and manipulating procurement processes, the project expenses were revised to Tk195,000 crore, according to the committee.
It recommended initiating legal proceedings to hold those involved in financial misconduct accountable.
Another member, Dr AK Enamul Haque, highlighted that over Tk700,000 crore had been spent on the Annual Development Program over the past 15 years, with 40% of the funds embezzled by bureaucrats.
Committee member Dr Mohammad Abu Yusuf pointed out that tax exemptions during the past regime had amounted to 6% of the country's GDP, noting that reducing this by half could have doubled the education budget and tripled the health budget.
Dr M Tamim, another committee member, added that $30 billion had been invested in power generation. “And if 10% is considered illicit transactions, the amount would be at least $3 billion,” he said.
The committee said the report would be made public soon.